JACKSONVILLE, FL—Jacksonville sophomores Alleah Stamatis and Mallory Mattingly posted double-doubles in the Dolphins, 3-1 (25-19, 20-25, 22-25, 25-10), victory over visiting NJIT Friday evening at Historic Swisher Gymnasium.

The Dolphins, who sit in second place, improves to 11-2 in the ASUN and 17-9 overall while the Highlanders fall to 2-11 in the ASUN, 12-18 overall.

Stamatis posted 49 assists and 11 digs, while Mattingly totaled 14 kills and 14 digs to lead the Dolphins.

Jacksonville sophomore Amarrah Cooks recorded a season-high 18 kills on 31 attempts for a .452 hitting percentage, and posted a match-high six blocks (two solo).   Senior Cristina Finan combined for a team-high 18 digs, nine kills, and three blocks (one solo).

NJIT senior Tess Albyn paced the match with 20 kills to lead the Highlanders offensively.  Sophomore setter Liz Benson posted a double-double with 37 assists and 13 digs.

Junior libero Adriana Nieto led the Highlanders with 16 digs and a match-best four service aces, as the Highlanders held a 9-4 lead in that category. 

Jacksonville quickly erased a 3-1 Highlander lead in the first set, as senior Shelby Babowicz served up four-straight Dolphin points to give JU a 5-3 lead. The Dolphins extended their lead on a 6-1 run but the visitors struck back on four-straight points.

The Highlanders came within one on three separate occasions, including 19-18. Following a Jacksonville timeout, the Dolphins closed out the set on a 6-1 run with kills from four different Dolphins, including three kills from Finan, to take set one, 25-19.

Eight ties early on highlighted the second set before Jacksonville surged on a 5-1 run to take a 17-13 advantage. The Dolphins went ahead, 23-18, to force NJIT to call a timeout and to halt Jacksonville's momentum. Despite trading the final four points, Jacksonville took the second set, 25-20.

Both teams found themselves on incredible runs in the third set as the Highlanders found themselves with a 7-5 advantage early on. Jacksonville quickly bounced back into form with eight unanswered points with Finan at the service line as the visitors burned through both timeouts during that run.

Mattingly posted four kills and a block assist during that run to help Jacksonville take a 20-13 lead. NJIT wouldn't allow another straight-set shutout at the hands of the Dolphins, however, and battled back and closed out the set on an 8-0 rally to win its first set, 25-22.
 
The Dolphins opened up the fourth set with a 10-2 lead. NJIT managed to string three consecutive points to cut its deficit to 10, 18-8, but the Dolphins used a 7-2 run to close out the set, 25-10, and the match, 3-1.

NJIT will close out the 2017 season on Saturday at 5pm when the Highlanders visit North Florida.
 
Play by play courtesy Jacksonville